Giants Designate Tanaka, Runzler For Assignment

The Giants have designated Kensuke Tanaka and Dan Runzler for assignment, according to Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter). Baggarly speculated yesterday that Tanaka and Runzler could be bounced from the 40-man roster to make room for minor leaguers Heath Hembree and Johnny Monell and today the Giants followed through on that.

Tanaka, 32, saw time in 15 big league games for the Giants this season but he's spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A, hitting .329/.400/.397 in 400 plate appearances. The veteran split time between second base and left field for the team's affiliate in Fresno.

Runzler, 28, owns a 3.86 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 across parts of four seasons for the Giants. Those numbers are mostly propped up by strong pitching in 2009 and '10; the lefty reliever pitched a 5.52 ERA in the subsequent two years. He hasn't been able to get back on track at Triple-A Fresno so far this year, posting a 5.68 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 6.4 BB/9.

To keep track of the many players currently in DFA limbo, be sure to check out MLBTR's new DFA Tracker.